Mark was the first to tell the story of Jesus. He faithfully retold Christ’s early preaching, strictly keeping his story within the period of Jesus’ public life that stretched from the time when John was baptizing until the day when Christ rose to heaven (cf. Acts 1:22). Mark mentioned Mary in two brief passages....

The Gospel shows us Mary as the mother of the Son of God. Jesus' entire childhood took place in the shadow of his mother. When God spoke to her, he awaited her "Yes", which was on behalf of all mankind. But if Mary can say "Yes", she is only able to so thanks to God. This answer has its source in Christ's "Yes" to his Father. That is why the whole Church, in her prayer, endorses Mary's response to God: "Let it happen to ...

Saint John of Damascus explained the mystery of Eucharistic transubstantiation of the bread and wine, using the mystery of the incarnation of the Word in Mary’s womb: “You ask how the bread becomes the Body of Christ, and the wine . . . the Blood of Christ. I shall tell you: the Holy Spirit comes upon them and accomplishes what surpasses every word and thought. Let it be enough for you to understand that it is by the Holy ...

"It is said of the Blessed Virgin that she deserved to carry Our Lord in her womb. However she did not deserve the Incarnation of the Verb, but, with the grace she received from heaven, she deserved such a degree of purity and sanctity that she was able, fittingly, to become the Mother of God. " __________________ Saint Thomas Acquinas (Sum. Theol. III, qu. 2, art. II.)...

[Translate to EN (English):] « Celui-ci n’est-il pas le charpentier, le fils de Marie, le frère de Jacques, de Joset, de Jude et de Simon ? » (Mc 6,3) « Ils lui dirent: "Nous ne sommes pas nés de la prostitution ; nous n’avons qu’un seul Père : Dieu." » (Jn 8,41) Peut-on s’appuyer sur Mc 6,3 ou Jn 8,41 pour ...

By the promulgation of today's Constitution, which has as its crown and summit a whole chapter dedicated to Our Lady, we can rightly affirm that the present session ends as an incomparable hymn of praise in honor to Mary. It is the first time, in fact--and saying it fills our souls with profound emotion--that an Ecumenical Council presents such a vast synthesis of the Catholic Doctrine regarding the place which the Blessed Mary occupies in the mystery of Christ and ...

A fourth of the churches in Lithuania are dedicated to the Virgin Mary ... And yet this country only converted to Christianity in 1387 when King Jagiellonian embraced Catholicism, leading the rest of his nation behind him.   Marian fervor, both within the nobility and the Lithuanian people as a whole, was such that Pope Pius XI once said: “Lithuania is Mary’s country.” The ...

There is but one Mediator as we know from the words of the apostle, "for there is one God and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a redemption for all". The maternal duty of Mary toward men in no wise obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows His power. For all the salvific influence of the Blessed Virgin on men originates, not from some inner necessity, but from the divine pleasure. It flows forth from ...

The development of Mariological thought and devotion to the Blessed Virgin down the centuries has contributed to revealing ever better the Church's Marian aspect. Of course, the Blessed Virgin is totally related to Christ, the foundation of faith and ecclesial experience, and she leads to him. That is why, in obedience to Jesus, who reserved a very special role for his Mother in the economy of salvation, Christians have venerated, loved and prayed to Mary in a most particular ...

During the night of March 26, 1996, seven Trappist monks of Our Lady of the Atlas, in Tibhirine, Algeria, were kidnapped. On May 23, a communiqué from the Armed Islamic Groups announced that they had been killed under atrocious conditions: the monk's throats were slit. Their Prior, Father Christian de Chergé, left this sublime spiritual testament of a life that was offered for God's glory in the land of Algeria: Testament of Dom Christian ...